Jack Noonan
Character Analysis

Jack Noonan is a sergeant and friend of the Maloneys. Jack is one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of the murder. Like the other officers on the case, he is sympathetic and condescending towards Mary and does not suspect her of Patrick’s murder at all. Instead, he tries to comfort her and, along with his colleagues, is persuaded by Mary to eat the leg of lamb, unaware that it is actually the murder weapon.

Jack Noonan Quotes in Lamb to the Slaughter

The Lamb to the Slaughter quotes below are all either spoken by Jack Noonan or refer to Jack Noonan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Vintage edition of Lamb to the Slaughter published in 1990.

Lamb to the Slaughter
Quotes

The two detectives remained, and so did the two policemen. They were exceptionally nice to her, and Jack Noonan asked if she wouldn't rather go somewhere else, to her sister’s house perhaps, or to his own wife who would take care of her and put her up for the night.

Sometimes Jack Noonan spoke to her gently as he passed by. Her husband, he told her, had been killed by a blow on the back of the head administered with a heavy blunt instrument, almost certainly a large piece of metal. They were looking for the weapon. The murderer may have taken it with him, but on the other hand he may’ve thrown it away or hidden it somewhere on the premises.

“It’s the old story,” he said. “Get the weapon, and you’ve got the man.”

“Here you all are, and good friends of dear Patrick’s too, and helping to catch the man who killed him. You must be terribly hungry by now because it’s long past your supper time, and I know Patrick would never forgive me, God bless his soul, if I allowed you to remain in his house without offering you decent hospitality. Why don’t you eat up that lamb that’s in the oven? It’ll be cooked just right by now.”

The woman stayed where she was, listening to them through the open door, and she could hear them speaking among themselves, their voices thick and sloppy because their mouths were full of meat. … “That’s the hell of a big club the guy must’ve used to hit poor Patrick,” one of them was saying. “The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledge-hammer.” … “Personally, I think it’s right here on the premises. “Probably right under our very noses. What you think, Jack?” And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.

Jack Noonan Character Timeline in Lamb to the Slaughter

The timeline below shows where the character Jack Noonan appears in Lamb to the Slaughter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Lamb to the Slaughter

Two policemen, Jack Noonan and O’Malley, both former colleagues and friends of Patrick, arrive. Still crying, Mary tells them...
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Jack Noonan occasionally speaks to Mary, explaining how Patrick was killed. He says that the murder weapon...
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...the weapon. It is late, and they are now tired, frustrated, and hungry. Mary asks Sergeant Jack Noonan for a drink, and he complies, pouring her a glass of whiskey. Mary insists that...
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Sergeant Noonan notices that the lamb is still in the oven and offers to turn it off...
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